MOBILE ROBOT FOR HAZARDOUS DUTY (TELEOPERATED FIREFIGHTING HOSE DELIVERY SYSTEM)

ONE OF THE MOST HAZARDOUS DUTY ASSIGNMENTS IN THE NAVY DURING BOTH PEACETIME AND CONFLICT IS FIGHTING FIRES ON BOARD AIRCRAFT CARRIERS. MOST OF THE WORST DISASTERS ON BOARD CARRIERS HAVE STARTED ON THE FLIGHT DECK. MOST OF THESE FIRES SPREAD TO LOWER DECKS BECAUSE THEY WERE NEVER QUICKLY CONTAINED AND ESCALATED BEYOND THE CAPABILITIES OF EXISTING FIREFIGHTING SYSTEMS. THIS PROPOSAL IS FOR A DETAILED INVESTIGATION OF THE HAZARDOUS DUTY OPERATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH FIGHTING FIRES ON THE FLIGHT DECK OF AIRCRAFT CARRIERS. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE INVESTIGATION WILL BE TO DEFINE BASIC FIREFIGHTING REQUIREMENTS, DEFINE ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES WHICH OFFER SAFE, TELEOPERATED CONTROL FOR FIREFIGHTERS, ANALYZE AND ESTABLISH THE FEASIBILITY OF THE VARIOUS APPROACHES AND RECOMMEND THE MOST COST-EFFECTIVE APPROACH THAT WILL REDUCE THE HUMAN RISK AND QUICKLY CONTAIN THE FIRE. THE RESULT OF THE INVESTIGATION WILL BE TO PROVIDE THE NAVY WITH A PRELIMINARY DESIGN SPECIFICATION OF THE RECOMMENDED APPROACH.